Time waits for No One
by Shade-Fox
Summary: Sonic has fallen through a hole in the fabric of time. Though his friends grieve over his disappearance, they continue to live their lives because time waits for no one. Sonic, Shadow, Amy, Tails, Cream, Knuckles and the Choatix plus a few new friends. C
1. Default Chapter

Legal stuff: I own Keira, Tirza and Daemon. Daemon's MY evil little Shadow clone. Sega owns

everyone else. Please note that this legal stuff applies to this and all following chapters.

Shade

Time Waits for No One

Everyone heard it. The giant explosion marked the end of Dr. Robotnik's main roboticizing lab.

All were cheering except a few. Amy Rose sat on a couch in Tails' house, anxiously watching him pace,

trying to comfort his wife Keira, and worrying about Shadow at the same time. All three of them

jumped when the front door opened. They looked, grief striken at little Tirza, once a happy little girl,

now partway metal, unconcious in Shadow's arms. Keira began to cry as she cleared a space on the

couch for Shadow to put Tirza. Shadow, if possible, looked even more sombre than usual. Amy

remained silent through all of this. As Shadow gently laid Tirza down Tails lost it. " What happened

Shadow! Why didn't you get to her in time!" "I'm sorry." Shadow said very softly. " There were two

thousand guard robots waiting for me." " You still should've gotten there on time. My daughter is

partway metal! Why did you even bother to help!" "Tails! Stop it now! He brought her back alive

didn't he?" Keira yelled with tears streaming down her face. Amy noticed that shadow's left arm was

completely metal. " Shadow, your arm. Are you alright?" "I'm fine." "Well if you're fine why don't you

just leave!" "Tails!" " I'm sorry I helped when I did Tails. No one ever helped me." With that

Shadow was gone in a flash of light known as Chaos Control. Keira and Amy had a long 'talk' with

Tails. As Amy walked home she heard a stick snap behind her. Instantly she pulled out her hammer and

turned around. "Woah! Take it easy with that thing Amy!" "Knuckles? whew." Amy sighed and fell into

Knuckle's arms crying. "What's wrong Amy? You should be happy. Someone finnaly hit Robotnik's lab,

took two thousand gaurd robots with it!" " I-I know. It was S-Shadow." Amy choked out through her

sobs. "It's about time Shadow let Robotnik have it!" " He went in after Tirza." " Tails' kid?" " Yes.

He .. He's hurt knuckles. There was blood on his pants and his left arm was roboticized. Tirza was

partly roboticized too. W-When Shadow brought her home Tails freaked out on him." Amy continued

to cry, her tears falling onto Knuckles' soft red fur. " It's okay Amy. Shadow will be allright. He

always is. You know that." " If Sonic was here to help us Shadow would be more friendly." "What

brought that up?" "It's only one week 'til ... He'll have been gone ten years.." " Oh. Come on I'll walk

you home." "Thanks Knuckles." . . . When Amy and Knuckles got to her house she turned her radio on.

Through the static they heard one of the messengers, (whose job was to keep Knothole residents

informed of everything), report that another three thousand robots had been reduced to piles of

smoldering metal. That made a total of five thousand robots, in one day. "That was Shadow..." " No

dout about that one. Hey Amy where do you keep your towels?" " Over in that closet. Why?" "I'd like

to dry myself off." Knuckles said, pointing to his tear soaked chest where his fur was now sticking out

in all directions. Amy couldn't help but smile. " That's better. Keep smiling okay Amy? " " Why are you

off Angel Island?" " Didn't hear it announced huh? Knothole is throwing a huge party over the

destruction of that cursed lab." " So you only came down to party?" "That's right. I need a break

from ... " " From what?" " Sshh." Knuckles slowly walked backwards toward the door then he spun

around and grabbed air that materialized into Espio the chameleon, who was promptly put into a head

lock by Knuckles. " OW ow ow. Knuckles let go!" " The Chaotix. That's what I need a break from.

Ninja boy here has been driving me crazy!" " Knuckles let Espio go. He'll stay away from you at the

party... won't you Espio?" " Yes I swear. OW!" " Don't swear in front of Amy! Geeze she's a lady!"

Amy giggled and led the two guys out to the once empty lot where she knew the party would be. They

passed a new hut void of any outside decorations. Knuckles asked who the hut was built for. Amy

looked sad as she answered. " We built it for Shadow but ... He's not around much. He gave everyone

permission to go in as long as the door's unlocked...It's always unlocked." " What's in there?" " Not

much... just a bed and dust. You can go in if you want...it's pretty depressing in there..." Knuckles went

in and came back out very quickly. " It is depressing in there... sorry Amy. We'll see him again soon.

He's just blowing off some steam. Thank heavens he's using robots instead of ... anything else." A

bright green flash briefly illuminated the windows of Shadow's hut. Espio couldn't help but jump. " A

little jumpy aren't we Espio?" Knuckles sneered. " What was that!" Espio demanded. Amy was

already on her way into the hut. " That," she said, " Was Chaos Control. Shadow's home."


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter two

Amy entered the dark hut. Knuckles and Espio only went as far as the door. It took a while for Amy's

eyes to adjust to the dark interior of the hut. When she could finally see she barely made out the

outline of Shadow, laying on his bed. Outside the hut Espio was pacing back and forth and, frankly,

driving Knuckles crazy again. " Why don't we go in too?" Espio asked suddenly pausing in his pacing.

Knuckles looked at him like he just grew another head or something. " US go in there too! What are

you nuts? Shadow doesn't like anybody except Amy. Amy's going in because she loves Shadow. We're

staying out because two people who like each other in the same room ... " Amy made her way over to

the bed. She saw an ear twitch but other than that Shadow didn't move. His breathing was slow and

even. " You're asleep already? You must've used a lot more chaos energy than usual to make up for

your left arm and wore yourself out." Amy smiled and gently pulled a sheet over Shadow. " You're so

cute when you're sleeping. . . You're not any less cute when you're awake. If I could just get you to

stay home when you're awake. . . If you stayed home maybe you'd notice that I'm not waiting for Sonic

anymore. I'm waiting for you, Shadow." Amy silently left and went with Knuckles and Espio to the

party.

" Daddy can we go? Please can we go?" Tirza begged. " No Tirza. I don't want you leaving this

house. I almost lost you once today. That will not happen again." " It wasn't Uncle Shadow's fault." "

What!" " You're blaming him. That's not fair Daddy." " Who said I was blaming him!" " Why won't

you even say his name? Uncle Shadow's not bad Daddy. He saved my life. Where were you? Why

didn't you come save me?" " Tirza! Who's putting these ideas into your head!" " Nobody is Daddy."

" Don't yell at my daughter." Keira interupted in a deadly tone. " Come on Tirza. We'll go to the party,

just you and Mommy okay? " " Yay! Will Uncle Knuckles be there? " " I don't know sweety. Get your

jacket okay? " As Tirza went to get her jacket Tails and Keira had an argument. " Keira don't take my

daughter away from me." Tails pleaded, for a moment reflecting the young Tails that had followed

Sonic around. " What are you talking about? " " The pack full of your and Tirza's stuff. . ." "It's not

good for her to hear us arguing. I think she'll be safer in Knothole than here if ... He decides to attack

again. It'll only be a week or so. We'll be back." Tirza, just around the corner listening clutched her

jacket and stuffed toy tighter as a silent tear slid down her cheek. " AAAAaaaahhhhh!" "

Espio don't you ever scare me like that again!" " Sorry Knuckles. Something grabbed me. " Knuckles

just rolled his eyes, that was when something got him too. Glancing down he saw what had his legs from

the knees down. " Uncle Knuckles!" Amy grinned. " Hey Tera. How's it going? " Knuckles asked. Amy

elbowed him gently and quietly whispered something. " Sorry Tirza." " That's okay Uncle Knuckles.

Dance with me. Please? " " Er ... I'll try." Amy left the two of them to get something to drink. " Uncle

Knuckles have you seen Uncle Shadow lately? " " No, I haven't. Amy has though. I think she went to

get something to drink." " I'm gonna go find her okay Uncle Knuckles? " " Alright. Be careful. "

Knuckles found Keira and told her where Tirza be. " Okay, thanks Knuckles." " No prob Keira. "

Amy really wouldn't admit it to anyone else but she was glad to have an excuse to go back and see

Shadow. Tirza playfully skipped beside her as she walked down the path. " How are you doing Tirza?

" " I'm allright. Daddy's not taking it good. How's Uncle Shadow? Is he okay? " " I don't know, when

he came back I saw the light and by the time I got inside he was already asleep." They entered

Shadow's hut together and Amy was relieved to see Shadow still there. Tirza ran and jumped up on

Shadow. " Wake up Uncle Shadow. Uncle Shadow? Please wake up." Tirza pulled on Shadow's ears

as she said this, trying to wake him. Amy smiled. She was enjoying this, it wasn't just anyone who could

jump on Shadow and pull on his ears and get away with it. Even Amy didn't dare do that. The only ones

who were really safe touching Shadow were Amy, Tirza and Cream. Cream had really grown up since

Sonic left. She was now a beautifull sixteen year old. She had helped Amy around the house a lot

until she had met a handsome young man. They were nearly inseperable and were together all the time.

Now though, Cream was making her way into the heart of Knothole alone. As she got close enough she

heard music and dancing from the party. Cream went to the party and searched until she found a

familiar face. " Knuckles what are you doing down here? " " Wow. Cream is that you? You look...

you're really pretty. " Cream managed an embarrassed smile. " Thankyou Knuckles. What's the party

for? " " You haven't heard? Shadow took down Robotniks main roboticizing lab and took five

thousand robots with it. " " Is he home! " " I don't know if he's still here. Amy took Tirza down to

his hut to see if he's still there. I'm assuming he is since last I knew he was asleep. " " I've been

wanting to see him, and everyone else. I miss all you guys." Cream gave Knuckles a hug and went off

towards Shadow's hut.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter three

Elsewhere, evil stirs. . . " It's about time you woke up you good for nothing copy! " Bright yellow eyes

turned to the speaker. " Is that all I am? A worthless copy? You know I could kill you instantly. " " No

you can't. You're not programmed to. First you botched the time operation and failed to kill Sonic. You

even let him get into the time warp. Who knows when he'll show up again? I do. He'll show up just in

time to foil one of my plans!" The yellow eyes watching the speaker narrowed. " When he shows up

again I will kill him without any problems. " " If you can kill him without any problems why didn't you

do it the first time!" " Shadow was fighting with him." " Right. I forgot they were friends then. . .

What makes you think this time will be different? " " Shadow has no friends anymore. He will fight

for no one." " Then how do you explain the pile of ruins that was my main roboticization lab! "

"What?" " You kidnapped Tails' only child and Shadow came by and demolished my main lab and

destroyed five thousand gaurd robots! " The one with yellow eyes was silent. " Nothing to say

Daemon? . . . Your new orders are to find and kill Shadow. No mistakes this time or you will be

destroyed. Do you understand? " " Yes Doctor Robotnik. " Daemon departed to hunt down his

counterpart. When Cream entered Shadow's hut she was greeted by a hug from Amy.

" Hey Cream. What are you doing here? I thought you were gonna be out with your boyfriend." " I

was. . . We had a fight and he left. All he wanted was. . ." Amy immediatly understood the look on

Cream's face and hugged her again. " I'm so sorry Cream." " Hi Cream! " Tirza yelled. " Help me wake

up Uncle Shadow please? " Cream laughed watching Tirza pulling on Shadow ears and bouncing up

and down on the bed trying to wake him. " If he's sleeping through all that I don't think he'll wake up

for a while. " Cream responded, still giggling. Amy and Cream had a nice long visit while Tirza played

with some toys on the floor. Eventually Tirza fell asleep. Shadow had knocked his pillow off the bed

sometime during Amy's visit so she picked it up and put it under Tirza's head. She put an extra blanket

on Tirza and sent Cream home to go to bed. Amy had no intentions of letting Shadow leave, unnoticed

anyway. . .

Shadow woke and stretched, wondering where his pillow was. He was about to get up when a slender

hand was placed on his chest. He jumped a little, he wasn't expecting that at all. " You are staying put

Shadow, whether you like it or not. " " Amy? " " Yes? " She answered, moving to the side of

Shadow's bed so he could see her. Shadow blinked a few times and quietly said, " You don't look real

good Amy. " " That's what happens to people who stay up all night. " " Why'd you stay up all night? "

" To make sure you didn't leave before I had a chance to see you. " " Oh." Shadow gave her a

sheepish grin. " You were completely out. Tirza was jumping up and down on the bed and pulling your

ears and you didn't even twich. " " Man, I knew I was tired but I didn't know I was that tired..." "

Are you hungry? " " Starving. I think last time I ate was two or three days ago. " " Shame on you!

You know you should eat more often. " " Yeah, I know. " "Lucky for you I already got you your

breakfast. " " You did? " " Mm hm. Try not to wake Tirza up. She's sleeping on the floor. " Shadow

looked over the edge of the bed and smiled. " So that's where my pillow went. " " Don't blame her, you

already knocked it off your bed when she went to sleep. Here you go. " Amy gave Shadow his

breakfast on a tray, he gave a questioning look. " Why are you looking at me like that? " " Aren't you

gonna eat? " " I've already had my breakfast. " Amy laid Shadow back some what so he was propped

against the wall next to his bed in a mostly laying position. Then Amy fed Shadow like a little kid or

something. ( Not that Shadow complained any...) When Shadow was full Amy looked half asleep where

she sat. Shadow smiled as he made a suggestion. " Um, if you're that tired . . . " " What are you saying

Shadow? " Shadow turned slightly red. " There's some extra room if you want it..." Amy gave him a

smile with her cheeks slightly flushed, only enhancing her looks in Shadow's opinion, before laying

down and falling asleep almost instantly. Shadow lovingly smiled at the sleeping Amy before gently

easing out of bed so he wouldn't wake her. As soon as his feet hit the floor Tirza attatched herself to

Shadow's legs. " You can't leave Uncle Shadow!" " Shh. I'm not gonna leave Tirza. We gotta be quiet

so we don't wake Amy." " Okay. You promise you won't leave? " " Yes. If I do leave I'll let you know

first okay? " Tirza nodded and skipped out the door. Shadow scribbled a note for Amy and then

followed Tirza outside. Amy woke and frowned. Shadow wasn't anywhere to be seen. She was

about to start yelling when she noticed a piece of paper on the floor by the door. Snatching it from the

floor she read it and slowly smiled. " So Tirza finnally got you to stay home huh? Well done Tirza.

Now Shadow's gonna be mine! " Blushing slightly from her last statement Amy set off to find them.


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter four

True to his word Shadow had stayed in knothole for the next six days. Amy was less than her usual

cheery self today. Shadow was getting a little concerned. Not only was Amy in a sombre mood but no

one had heard or seen anything of who or whatever had kidnapped Tirza. Needless to say Shadow was

a bit edgy today. He and Amy were having a small argument over who would watch Tirza for the next

hour or so when alarms rang out. " What the! Amy go find Tirza and Cream then go to Keira's hut!

Hurry!"

Even with all the panic going on Amy couldn't help but think just how good Shadow looked. Today

she had finnally talked him into not hiding his left arm. She thought it just made him look more tough

and cute. Regaining her senses she rounded up everyone she was supposed to and ran in the direction

Shadow had gone. When she found Shadow her heart nearly stopped. Shadow was facing off with

himself! Amy looked on as the two black and red hedgehogs stayed at a standstill. After looking

closely she could tell wich one was Shadow. The other hedgehog was red where Shadow was black

and black where Shadow was red. His eyes were a bright yellow, unlike Shadow's red ones. She was

amazed, even though it's colors were switched it was easy, even for her, to confuse it with Shadow.

The first thought that had entered Shadow's mind was 'Lord help us, he cloned me.' Now he

was facing off against himself, copied, and had no idea what to expect. He never thought Robotnik

actually could clone him. Back when he fell from space following the ARK incident Robotnik found him

first. The evil, so called 'genius', had entered Gerald's database on Shadow and found that there was

a ninety percent probability of the ultimate life surviving such conditions. Everyone else had given him

up for dead. Robotnik was looking to kill him before he recovered, because one: if Shadow had

followed through with his plan it would have killed Robotnik along with everyone else. and two:

Robotnik wouldn't stand for Sonic and Shadow to be against him. Anyway long story-short Robotnik

and Shadow ended up in a stale mate. If either had taken any more hits they probably would've died.

Robotnik had slowly raised a gun, pointed at Shadow's downed form and made a deal. It hadn't

seemed so bad at the time, a vail of his blood was to dropped of at Robotnik's place in exchange for

Robotnik not pulling the trigger. The deal had been made. Robotnik got the vial of blood when doing so

wouldn't further endanger Shadow's life (meaning when he actually had some to spare.) and Shadow

had found Sonic. How was he to know that ten years later the robotics expert would find a way to

clone him? So here he was facing his clone in the middle of Knothole when Amy comes up behind him.

All of his attention was on the clone, he didn't dare glance back at Amy. He was nervous, he had no

idea what to expect. Would this clone tap into chaos energy like he did? Could he beat it with one good

arm? He slowly called chaos energy into his right hand, as he felt the familiar tingling of it the clone

pulled out a two way radio. There were no douts as to who had the other radio, Robotnik did. Shadow

quickly fried the radio using a well aimed Chaos Spear. The clone cursed as he jerked his hand away

from the remains of the radio. It then took off running somewhere near what Sonic's top speed had

been. Shadow cursed and took off as well, thanking Gerald for the gift of superior speed. He had

always been one step ahead of Sonic as far as speed was concerned and he sure needed speed now.

He had to stop Robotnik from finding out the location of Knothole. A few seconds later Shadow got in

front of the clone causing another stand off. " Very good Shadow, you are as fast as they say. But

then I am you also. Everyone around Knothole seems to fear you. I had no trouble getting in because no

one dares to bother you. " " Who are you!" Shadow shot back. " My name is Daemon. My mission is to

kill you alone. Giving Master Robotnik the location of Knothole Village, primary resistance force and

largest remaining city, is just a bonus. But you don't want me to tell him do you? Or do you not even

care? " Shadow swore under his breath. " You know, since you're a created being like myself I'll

make a deal with you. Frankly Master Robotnik makes me angry, if you agree to a fight with me I will

forget to tell Robotnik the location of Knothole unless I beat you." " Why don't we fight now and get

it over with?" Shadow asked in a deadly tone. " Because if my calculations are correct Sonic should be

showing up today. I'd like to see Knothole's original hero in a duel with Robotnik after I beat you." "

You're willing to risk Knothole still resisting Robotnik even if I lose! " " Knothole is nothing to me. I

must beat you to prove I'm better than you to Robotnik! " Their discussion was interupted as a hole

was ripped through the fabric of time. Daemon smiled wickedly as Sonic fell unconcious at his feet. In

an instant Daemon was holding Sonic with a large knife to his throat. " So what is it Shadow? Leave a

possible defense for Knothole if you lose or should I just kill him now? " " What are the terms of the

fight? " Shadow asked warily. Daemon smiled again. " It is just you and me. No witnesses. The one

left alive wins. " " I agree to your terms. " Shadow said gravely. " Excellent. Be at the Mystic Ruins

field at sundown in one week. I'll see you there Shadow. Don't forget, I'm you, so I'll be around." As

Daemon left Sonic suddenly fell to the ground. Scooping him up Shadow swore again. _" I forgot how _

_heavy you are Sonic. I can't win this fight with just one arm. . . And Daemon knows it."_ Shadow failed

at ignoring the pain in his roboticized arm and had to lay Sonic on the ground and use Chaos Control to

get them both back to Knothole.


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter five

When he appeared in his hut he scared Amy half to death. Gritting his teeth against the pain in his left

arm he picked Sonic up and layed him on his bed. After he had put Sonic down he pulled his left arm

close to him and held it with his right. Amy got over her shock well and tried to see what was wrong

with Shadow's arm. " I'm fine Amy. Leave it alone." " No You're not! " " Yes I am. Would you look

after him for me? I'm gonna be in the library, see you later. " Shadow took off via Chaos Control

leaving a very exasperated Amy behind. Shadow still had not shown up when Sonic came to.

Amy looked on her first love with disgust. He had disappeared ten years ago, and didn't look a day

older. _" Is he an ultimate life too? How else would he look the same? He could've told the truth, not _

_gave Shadow that rediculous lie to tell us. " _ " Wha? Where am I ? " " Knothole Village. " A

curt female voice answered his question. Sonic opened his dull green eyes and met a pair of emerald

green ones. " Amy? " " What do you want Sonic? " " What happened? " " How should I know?

Shadow came by, dropped your lazy butt off here for me to look after, then took off. " " Why are

you so mad? " Sonic sensed that that was not a good question to ask so he quickly changed the

subject. " Those are nice clothes Amy. " " Don't you even try to change the subject Sonic Hedgehog!

You used to get away with that all the time but not anymore. Not after you just leave for ten years and

then come waltzing back like it never happened. " " Ten years? What are you talking about Amy? "

Sonic was getting nervous, Amy looked older, acted older and seemed to think he'd been gone for ten

years. He was completely thrown by her next question. " Are you an ultimate life Sonic? " " What?

No! If I was I think Shadow would have done away with his competition. Why do you ask? " " Was I

not clear? You've been gone ten fricken years Sonic! " Amy stopped to breathe and the sinking

feeling in Sonic's stomache told him this wasn't a dream... Shadow slammed his fist down on the

desk he'd covered with maps. None of the other underground villages he'd contacted had noticed any

glitches in their electronics. Glitches in electronics usually indicated a Chaos Emerald was near. He'd

contacted villages in startegic locations all across Mobius where Chaos Emeralds were likely to be. _" I _

_need to find the purple emerald! Me and Daemon both know I can't beat him like this. . ." _Shadow

glanced down at his roboticized left arm. It hurt just to move it, no other partly roboticized mobians

complained of pain. What happened to my arm? Why does it hurt? If it didn't hurt I could beat

Daemon. Shadow continued contacting villages in search of the purple emerald. He spent three days

straight locked up in the library working without sleep. Then an idea struck him. The Master Emerald.

It could control all Chaos Emeralds. _" I may be able to draw out the frequency of the purple emerald. _

_Better tell Amy." _Amy made Shadow eat something before he took off. As he was walking away Sonic

came up behind Shadow and made some comment about him moving in on his girl. Before Sonic could

even blink Shadow was holding him up off the ground with his right hand and his left was ready to

introduce itself to Sonic's face. Amy started yelling. " Shadow! You know it hurts you to use that arm.

Don't do it. Sonic's not worth it. " " You're right. See you later. Chaos Control! "

Knuckles and the rest of the Chaotix had been hearing reports of a red and black figure terrorizing

villages all across Mobius. The Chaotix wanted to go hunt down Shadow but Knuckles was skeptical. _" _

_Those are Shadow's colors, but if he did anything like that Amy would've clobbered him by now. . . _

_Right? " _While he sat leaning against the Master Emerald thinking Knuckles dozed off. He woke

sensing another presence. He glaced around, he didn't see anybody, nor could he see a slight shimmer

of air to indicate Espio. He walked around to the other side of the Master Emerald to find Shadow

unconcious on the steps. Knuckles was about to punch Shadow to make sure he stayed that way when a

glowing orange ball of light danced around his fist. " Tikal?" A young female echidna appeared. She

was orange in color and semi transparent. She didn't respond to Knuckles but instead knelt down by

Shadow. " He must not be hindered Knuckles. If he fails there will be no life on Mobius save Eggman.

" "What do you mean Tikal? " Knuckles asked worriedly, Tikal only showed herself in time of great

need. Tikal gently picked up Shadow's left arm. "The bone in his arm is grinding against the metal. If

he cannot find a way to heal this and use his arm all will be lost." " Who is attacking? " " They call it

Daemon. A clone made from Shadow's blood. " " A clone! How is that possible? " " That is not for

you to know gaurdian. Do not hinder Shadow. " With that Tikal became an orange ball of light again

and disappeared into the Master Emerald. . . Shadow woke feeling a little stiff from sleeping on

those stone steps. _" Okay, the Master Emerald automatically seals off chaos energy. . ." _Shadow

thought and tried a few different things but didn't get anywhere so he talked with Knuckles well into

the night. The next two days Shadow spent listening to the different humming tones made by the

Emerald. He found seven slightly varied tones. He spent the whole night talking with Tikal. Finally sun

rise came and Shadow had a last ditch plan. _" I hope I have enough Chaos Energy to hold out. . ." _

Shadow began pumping out Chaos Energy and finally got ahold of the frequency used to control the

purple emerald. He had a hard time making purple Chaos Energy from that but finally suceeded, after

he made it he had to pull it out of the Master Emerald into his left arm. When it was done Shadow had

no Chaos Energy left. He cried out in pain before passing out due to his effort. Knuckles came running

at Shadow's cry and found Tikal massaging Shadow's shoulders. " He has suceeded in this. He must

not miss the duel. He has to be taken back to Amy. Knuckles, you must do this. Shadow must not fail. "

With that Tikal became part of the emerald again. Knuckles picked up Shadow and jumped off Angel

Island. His gliding was a little erratic with Shadow in one arm but he made it to Knothole okay. Amy

looked pretty tired when she answered the door at Shadow's hut. " Knuckles? What are?" Amy cut her

questions short when she saw Shadow. " Get him in here. Is he okay!" " Calm down Amy. He's just

tired. Anybody would be after what he pulled. " Knuckles explained as he laid Shadow down on his

bed. " What do you mean he pulled?" " Come here. " Amy walked slowly towards Shadow's bed,

afraid of what she might find. " His arm! What did he do! " " As far as I can tell he put out Chaos

Energy until he found the frequency for controlling purple then made purple chaos from that and used

it to heal. " " Huh?" " Sonic? Who invited you! " Amy yelled, annoyed. Knuckles paled a little. "S-

Sonic?" " Knux, is that you? " "THAT'S KNUCKLES TO YOU!" " Okay have we finished establishing

the fact that this is Sonic? " Amy asked sarcastically. " It is Sonic! " Knuckles yelled. Sonic whistled

as he walked around Knuckles. " Man, you been working out or something? "Knucklessmiled widely

flexing his muscles. Then Knuckles did something no one expected. He hugged Sonic. Sonic and Amy

both winced as loud cracking sounds were heard. Sonic and Knuckles went outside to talk while Amy

stayed with Shadow and tended him as best she could. Sonic's p.o.v.- flash back to Tails. Sonic

looked on at the orange two tailed fox that used to follow him around. _" He is as tall as me now. . . " _

Sonic thought. He was unsure how to feel until Tails turned around. His face went pale and his hands

shook. He had asked if Sonic was actually there. When Sonic had got it into Tail's head that he wasn't

some son of Sonic or something Tails landed a punch square on Sonic's jaw. " Why did you leave me

Sonic? " Tails had asked, tears flowing down his face. " We've always worked things out before. You

didn't have to leave, and not for so long. " Tails continued shakily. Sonic picked himself up off the

ground and tried to comfort Tails. "Tails, I-" " It's Miles. I'm Miles Prower now. Tails is gone. " "

What happened to you? " " Everything. You weren't around to protect me. I found my real family

Sonic. You always said we'd find them together. I had to watch them be roboticized. Every single one

of them, I couldn't do a thing. Shadow didn't get there in time. Only I made it out. My best friend and

brother, you, weren't there for me when I got married. . . Why did you leave Sonic? " Tails broke

down and leaned against Sonic's chest and cried. Sonic cried too. " Tails, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I

never meant to leave. The last thing I remember is me and Shadow fighting this guy. then I wake up

and everybody looks older and they tell me I've been gone for ten years. " Tails and Sonic had talked

for hours. " What's wrong with Shadow? " " He hasn't been the same since you left. When he came

back he was all pale and he said you were gone. He locked himself in his room for five days. After that

he just got worse. He won't speak to anybody but Amy and Knuckles now. " " Why won't he talk to

you? " Tails' face fell. " My daughter Tirza was kiddnapped and Shadow went to find her. He

brought her home halfway roboticized and I freaked out on him. He gave his left arm to save her

Sonic. It's roboticized and he can't use it. My wife Keira, she went to Knothole and took Tirza with

her. " Sonic had brought Tails to Knothole with him and was introduced to Tirza as Uncle Sonic.

end flashback.


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter six

Amy gently shook Shadow and woke him. It took him a few seconds to realize where he was, then he

snapped into full alert. " Shadow it's alright. You've got about an hour and a half till sundown. "

Shadow relaxed a little. " Thanks Amy. " " For what? " Shadow made no answer. " Are you hungry?

" " No." " Well, whether you are or not you're gonna eat something. It's been at least five days. "

Shadow reluctantly ate. Knuckles and Sonic came in and they talked to Shadow and Amy for a

while. When Knuckles was ready to leave Sonic wasn't but Knuckles grabbed one of Sonic's ears

and drug him out anyway. _" Thanks Knuckles. "_ Amy turned to Shadow. He had forty-five minutes

until sundown. His face was dangerously nuetral. Amy slid her arms around Shadow's waist and

gently sat down in his lap and watched his face. It went from nuetral to bright red almost instantly. "

That's a good look for you Shadow. " Giggling Amy got up. She smiled at Shadow, he returned the

smile then stood up. " I should get going. I have to find Tirza and say goodbye. " He turned to Amy

and slowly pulled her into a hug. " Amy, I love you. " " I know. It's about time you told me though. "

" I had a feeling Sonic would come back. I know you still loved him. . . " " I do. But it's different from

what I feel for you. Me and Sonic could never be. He's more like a brother to me than anything."

Shadow had a huge grin on his face. " Guess I shouldn't have waited so long to tell you huh? " Amy

blushed and nodded. " I really have to go now. I have to go all the way to the Mystic Ruins. " "

Then take this, and be sure to come back to me. " Amy reached up and caught Shadow's lips with

hers. When they parted Shadow was atomic red and Amy was blushing again. Amy had pressed the

yellow chaos emerald into Shadow's right hand. Chaos energy crackled around Shadow and threw

off sparks. Shadow's face returned to the dangerous nuetral expression. " I will come back. I have no

intention of losing. Sonic and I fought this Daemon guy, ten years ago. Daemon went back in time

and Sonic jumped into the time rift after him. No way is Daemon getting out of this. " Shadow

flashed Amy another smile and was gone. Soon Shadow was on his way to the Mystic Ruins.

Daemon was waiting for him. Both stood staring at each other. A slight breeze rippled the grass at

their feet. At that silent signal the fight started. The battle raged. Daemon had limited chaos energy.

Shadow And Daemon were pretty well matched except for the speed and chaos energy factors.

Shadow still had the yellow emerald, he'd absorbed it. The fight went on with Shadow landing twice

as many attacks as Daemon due to his superior speed. Daemon caught Shadow off gaurd when he

launched a ball of pure red Chaos Energy. Shadow jerked his head back, avoiding the attack and

putting himself a little off balance. Daemon charged and tried to double punch Shadow. Shadow

caught both of Daemon's fists and staggered back a little. Daemon spotted Shadow's left arm and

smirked. " Very good. You healed your arm. It won't help you. " Shadow winced as Daemon broke

his left arm. They separated and Shadow looked a little ticked. His expression returned to nuetral as

he felt the familiar tingling of Chaos Energy building up in his right hand.

" Chaos Spear! " Daemon's eyes went wide and he tried to dodge. He ended up with a bloody gash

going down his leg. He gritted his teeth as Shadow prepared his next attack. " Chaos Spear Cascade!

" A barrage of Chaos Spears headed straight for Daemon. He started glowing red and a split second

before the spears hit Daemon shouted, " Chaos Rebound! " Shadow was not ready for his attack to

be rebounded. He was breathing hard, holding a hand over the deep wound in his chest when the

dust cleared. " Still alive? I thought that would surprise you. I found that since I could not redily

attack with Chaos Energy I could repel it. I am your opposite, am I not? " " Enough talk! Chaos

Spear Cascade! " As Shadow launched the attack Daemon laughed failing to hear the two words

Shadow whispered. As the attack rebounded to where Daemon thought Shadow was, Shadow came

out of Chaos Control right behind Daemon. Shadow delivered a sharp blow to the back of Daemon's

head knocking him down. Shadow then fired another Chaos Spear Cascade at Daemon's back. As

Daemon stood up it was clear that the attack had connected. Blood dripped down Daemon's side as

he clutched his chest. They had been fighting for hours, time had become crucial now. Both were

bleeding from large wounds. The longer the fight the more blood they both would lose, the first one

to slow down from blood loss would lose. Shadow and Daemon slowly circled each other. Daemon

charged and Shadow dropped to one knee and used the other leg to sweep him. Daemon went down

hard and tried to roll out of it. While he was rolling several Chaos Spears were sent straight for him.

Only one connected, the cut that resulted disabled Daemon's right arm. " #! you Shadow! " " You

couldn't beat me ten years ago. What makes you think you can beat me now! " Daemon smiled evily

at Shadow and pointed to a device at his side. " Master's coming if I push the call button right here.

" Shadow's eyes narrowed and he went for Daemon and the device.

Shade: another chapter done, if anyone's reading this I'm sorry for the wait. Thanks for reading.

Chaos Spear Cascade is all out of my head and I'm proud of it. Sayonara


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter seven

Sonic was driving Amy crazy with all his pacing. She'd tripped him several times only to have him

get back up and pace some more. " SONIC SIT STILL!" Sonic flinched. " Uh, sorry Amy. I'm just

worried about Shadow. That's all. Where'd he go anyway?" "The Mystic Ruins. " Sonic was

thinking about running off when he was grabbed firmly by the back of the shirt he'd been forced to

wear. " Don't even think about it Sonic. You show up there and either Daemon or Shadow will kill

you. " " Why? " " It's a death match. Last one standing or last one alive wins. Daemon told Shadow

that if anyone came to watch Robotnik would instantly know the location of Knothole. So, you're

staying put." Knuckles sat with his hand pressed against the Master Emerald. It kept pulsing and

flashing brightly. The pulsing felt almost like a fast heart beat. " Tikal? " The orange echidna

appeared beside Knuckles. " What is it that troubles you gaurdian? " " The Master Emerald is

pulsing, like a heart beat. " " Yes gaurdian, the Master Emerald watches the heart beats of Shadow.

The Master Emerald says he can not fail or all will be lost. It's powers of restraint will be used for

evil. " Knuckles looked anxiously at the horizon, the sun was slowly rising. The last several clashes

had cost Shadow and Daemon greatly. They both looked ready to pass out where they stood. Each

knew what the other was thinking, one more hit and I've won. Neither of them was prepared for the

blue streak that came out of nowhere. " Sonic! " Shadow yelled indignantly. Daemon pushed the call

button. " Master's come-ing." Daemon taunted in a low tone. " Damn you Sonic. Can't you ever

listen? " Sonic looked at his old best friend shocked. " Shadow, Amy told me. . . We've fought this

guy together before. We can do it again. " Sonic built up confidence as he spoke. " Yes, we did fight

him together once, and once was enough! You didn't listen to me then and you got sent ten years

into the future. Stay out of the way. " Shadow commanded as he backfisted Sonic just hard enough

to knock him to the ground. Soon an all to familiar laughing was heard. " Whoohohoho! " The laugh

made everyone present cringe. " Shadow Strike! " Shadow yelled before he disappeared. He jumped

seemingly out of the ground right under Daemon, all colors of Chaos Energy swirling around him.

Daemon got multiple hits before he had sense enough to repel the Chaos Energy. Shadow jumped

back a few feet and Sonic's eyes widened seeing the red stain under Shadow's feet growing. Daemon

choked out a few unintelligable words, spat out blood and fell to the ground. As he lay there

fighting for breath he muttered, " You'll get yours Shadow. " Robotnik had came on the scene in time

to see Shadow backfist Sonic. He let out his completely annoying laugh again. Shadow turned his

entire focus to Robotnik. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Daemon starting to get up. _" He's _

_healing that fast! " _Robotnik revealed a gun on the front of his newest flying machine. Shadow

searched the front of it looking for weaknesses. When he couldn't find any in the front he started to

circle the machine. Sonic laid a hand on his shoulder. " You take that Daemon guy. I'll take the ol'

Buttnik. " " Watch out ! " Shadow yelled, pushing Sonic roughly to the ground. Sonic rolled to

lessen the impact. When he stopped rolling he looked back at Shadow. Shadow was pulling a

needle-like object out of his arm. " You...Idiot! He has all new weapons now! " Shadow turned into a

black streak and circled Robotnik's machine. Shadow stopped where he'd started from. Robotnik was

turning his machine, trying to find Shadow. When the rear of the machine was facing him Shadow

darted forward and rearranged some connections. ' Switch intake with exhaust. . . I hope this works. '

Shadow jumped clear of the machine. When he landed he felt dizzy. Whatever was in the dart that

hit him was starting to take effect. Shadow swayed and Daemon stood and fired a blast of pure

negative Chaos Energy through Shadow's back. Shadow's face held a look of pain as he fell forward.

Daemon ran to attack Shadow. He was stopped dead in his tracks when Shadow rolled over and

kicked his left knee hard enough to break it. Daemon fell to the ground and Shadow pulled his knife

away from him. After a short struggle Shadow slid the knife across Daemon's throat and watched as

he fell still. Sonic meanwhile, was dodging Robotnik's attacks.


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter eight

Knuckles felt the pulses of the Master Emerald continue to

slow down and weaken. Knuckles went pale when the Master

Emerald stopped pulsing altogether. He fell to his knees, his

whole body shaking. " He has saved us all. " Tikal whispered,

laying a consoling hand on Knuckles' shoulder. Tikal bowed to

the horizon and disappeared into the Master Emerald.

Knuckles slammed his fist into the stone beneath his feet,

imprinting it with his fist and splitting his knuckles. As hard as

he tried not to let it, a single tear fell to the ground. Knuckles

glanced back at the Master Emerald. " 'Sup Knuckles? " " Dang

you Espio! " " What's wrong Knuckles? " " Stay here and gaurd

the Emerald. I'll be back in a couple of days. " " Hey Knux!

NOOO! Don't leave me to gaurd YOUR Emerald! AAghh!

Dang you Knuckles! " Knuckles was already gliding towards

the Mystic Ruins at top speed. Knuckles arrived as Tails and

Keira were picking up Sonic. " Sonic? What's he doing here? "

Tails nor Keira answered. Keira tilted her head back to get

Knuckles to look in that direction. There was Amy, still on the

ground where she'd been holding Shadow. All that was there to

indicate Shadow was even there was a pool of blood and the

yellow Chaos Emerald with spots of blood on it. Knuckles'

stomach twisted itself into a knot that lodged in his throat.

Knuckles swallowed hard and asked softly. " Where's Shadow's

body? " Tails shrugged his shoulders and hung his head, Keira

answered softly. " We don't know. There was a bright flash

then, he was gone. " Knuckles walked around the blood to get

to Amy. She gave no sign she knew he was there. He grabbed

the emerald, then picked Amy up and followed Keira and Tails.

When they got to Knothole Sonic was immediately taken to the

hospital while Knuckles took Amy home. Knuckles, still

carrying the emerald went to the hospital and learned that

Sonic had heavy blood loss, slight paralysis that would wear

off, a couple broken ribs and a broken arm. Tails had been

assured that Sonic would be fine. Sonic was placed in a quiet

hospital room. When knuckles learned that he couldn't see

Sonic he punched a hole in the wall and was promptly thrown

out of the hospital. Knuckles took some time to wash the

blood off the emerald and his hand before heading back to

Amy's house. He found her sleeping. He set the emerald on her

dresser and waited for her to wake up. Amy woke up to find

Knuckles in her house. " Knuckles! " Knuckles looked at her

then held his arms out to her. Amy ran to him, buried her head

in his chest and cried. Knuckles held her and fought back his

own tears. When Amy couldn't cry anymore she stayed in

Knuckles' arms shaking. " Do you realize that this is the second

time you've made my fur stick out in all directions? " He asked

softly. Amy laughed but her laughter quickly faded. "

Knuckles, Shadow. . . " " Sshh, I know. " " He died in my arms.

He told me that he loved me then . . . he told me not to cry

because everything would be fine. " " You're in trouble then

aren't you? " Amy bit her lip and nodded. " Yeah, I guess I am.

" " Yeah. Hey Amy, can I borrow another towel? " Amy

managed a smile as she handed Knuckles a towel.


	9. Chapter Nine

Knuckles spent the next few days at Knothole and helped clean up the

mess at Mystic Ruins. He also helped organize teams to penetrate

Robotropolis to destroy the remaining robots created by Robotnik.

Knuckles was in charge of training the fighters while Tails trained

several people on computers. After the training was well underway

Knuckles went back to Angel Island. Things were still going smoothly

after Knuckles left. Amy seldom left Sonic's side the entire time he was

in the hospital. He seemed to be healing a little faster than he normally

would have. Amy absently brushed the observation aside.

Sonic was finally allowed to leave the hospital. He was back to his old

self except for the fact that he hung around closer to everybody. He

played with Tirza and talked with Keira, Tails and Cream. He always felt

mixed feelings around Amy. He didn't really avoid her but he didn't make

a point to be around her either. He always felt a strange stirring within

himself when around Amy, it made him very uncomfortable. It was as if

he was receiving two different messages, 'hug Amy and stay close to her'

and, 'Amy is just my friend, I'm closer to Tails than her'. Sonic didn't

really seem affected by the fact that Shadow was dead, despite Amy

saying she held Shadow as he died, he felt that Shadow was alright.

Amy never cried in front of anyone. She saved her tears until she visited

the makeshift memorial she'd built for Shadow out in the woods. Sure

she smiled when she was around people but it was a lie, a mask to hide

her pain. Knuckles had easily looked through her mask and awkwardly

tried to comfort her. What hurt the most was Sonic's insensitive response

to the news. He'd acted like nothing was wrong. Even Tails and Keira

had cried with her over Shadow's death, but not Sonic. Everyone was

trying their best to keep Amy from isolating herself except Sonic. Sonic

always fidgeted when he was around her, as though uncomfortable. She

clutched the yellow Chaos Emerald to her as though it were her very life

and cried again.

Sonic found himself having not exactly mood swings but partial

personality changes. No one else seemed to notice them so Sonic

shrugged it off and ignored it. One day, instead of going to the fighter's

training he went for a walk. He found himself doing that a lot lately. He

heard someone crying and immediately checked it out. It was Amy, Sonic

was surprised. He never expected her to still be hurting and not this

much. If ever Sonic went against his nature it was now. He went and

gave Amy a very tender, comforting hug. Amy pushed him away roughly.

"Leave me alone Sonic. I'm crying for Shadow, something you wouldn't

understand." "Amy, I miss him too. Please don't be mad at me. Shadow

told you everything would be fine. I believe him, somehow I feel that

he's alive and somewhere close. He always bounces back when he gets

hurt. . . When I fought him on ARK he acted like he didn't really want to

fight me. He hesitated so my attack that probably would have missed

connected, hard. Amy, he went four feet into solid ground, got up and

walked away. I heard his heart skip a beat though. Maybe that's what

happened just before he left." Amy looked up at him with a tear streaked

face but there was some hope in her eyes. "Do you really think he's still

alive Sonic?" "Yes, I do." Amy let herself fall into Sonic's arms and

sighed deeply.


	10. Chapter 10

This is for all of you who've been patient with me, thanx! I've fixed the problem of ch's 8 and 9 being the same and I've finished the story. Thanks to Tylec Asroc, Gh0st-Xer0, ShadowBlade13 and Saphire for the encouragement. Enjoy! Sayonara, Shade

Finally the teams were ready to infiltrate Robotropolis, destroy the

remaining robots and security systems, work at finding salvageable items

and begin to rebuild the city. Sonic went with his team and the rest of the

teams. All was going well until they reached an abandoned storehouse.

Hundreds of robots poured out, these weren't regular robots though.

They were what remained of those who were once friends and family,

they were roboticized mobians. Unwilling to destroy them in hopes that a

cure may one day be found all of the teams were forced to retreat. They

were almost out safely when Robotnik's right hand man showed himself

to be alive and kicking. His name was Snively. Far different from his

uncle, Snively was skinny, athletic and deserving of the title evil genius.

While Robotnik's machines were always defective and easily disposed of,

Snively's, the roboticized mobians, were not easily disposed of, even if

one could bring himself to attack one of his own. The weaker team

members were forced to scatter and run for it while stronger fighters like

Sonic organized themselves and prepared to run decoy until the others

reached safety. The last to leave was of course, Sonic.

Snively hunted for Knothole relentlessly, several times coming

dangerously close to it. Sonic had numerous clashes with Snively and

seemed to be getting faster. Sonic thought that was great. Knuckles and

Espio came down from Angel Island to see what they could do to help.

As Knuckles continued to watch Sonic's fights with Snively he noticed

that Sonic was slowly getting stronger, colder and calculating in battle.

To Knuckles' well trained eyes, Sonic was slowly getting taken over by

something dark. Perfectly centered by Sonic's soul was a darker light.

The light was spreading, it went from Sonic's legs up, going about

halfway down his arms. As the light spread Sonic continued to get faster

and stronger. This got Knuckles so worried that he brought the subject

up with Amy. He asked her to keep a sharp eye on Sonic.

Amy kept Sonic close to her and was unnerved at the personality change

she saw in Sonic. He had even tried to kiss her! This had her worried.

Tails had noticed too. He tested Sonic's new strength and went pale with

his findings; Sonic would be twice as strong as Knuckles within a few

days. Sonic had taken to eating more and refused to touch his favorite

food, chilidogs. One day Amy found him outside, laying face-down,

unmoving. Terrified Amy had run towards him. Just before she reached

him he rolled over onto his back, yawned then sat up and opened his

eyes. Amy could've sworn his eyes changed colors. "Sonic? Sonic, are

you okay? You never sleep on your stomach." "Yes I do." He retorted.

Amy shied away from him. "Amy, what's wrong? Why are you scared of

me? I thought. . ." He sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened them

again he seemed different, friendlier. "Hey Amy, guess I must've dozed

off. Were you looking for me?" Amy felt a shiver go down her spine.

"Um, no. I was worried 'cause you were out here face down and you

weren't moving." Amy found herself in Sonic's arms. "I'm so scared

Sonic." In response Sonic hugged her closer. Amy looked up startled

when she felt something wet slide down her cheek. Sonic had a few tears

trailing down his cheeks. "Sonic?" Sonic looked down at her and smiled

gently. "I'm going to get rid of Snively once and for all, so we can all

come out of hiding." Sonic gently pushed her away and took off, leaving

behind a flaming trail, a sonic boom and a very confused Amy.


	11. Chapter 11

By the time Amy, Tails and Knuckles found Sonic he was totally

involved in a fight to the death with Snively. Sonic wasn't acting like

himself at all. He stood, not taunting and running but coolly sizing up

the enormous machine and Snively's skills. Knuckles sent Amy away to

fetch someone with some doctoring skills.

Knuckles and Tails watched the battle rage. Sonic was at a stale mate,

Snively's machine had nearly impenetrable shields that moved as fast as

Sonic did. Very slowly Sonic was wearing out and couldn't get at the

machine because of the rotating shields. Finally Sonic stopped dead in

his tracks and Knuckles gasped. Sonic's eyes were red. "I wasn't ready to

do this but I have no choice." Sonic whispered. There was a bright green

flash of light, much like Chaos Control. When Knuckles could see again

he watched the silhouettes of two hedgehogs attack the machine

simultaneously. The machine exploded and one of the silhouettes got to

safety, but the other collapsed by the explosion. The one that got away

was Sonic. He collapsed at Tails' side, completely exhausted. As the

smoke cleared Knuckles ran towards the wreckage, leaving Sonic in

Tails' care. Amongst the wreckage Knuckles found Shadow. He was in

bad shape, like he was from his fight with Robotnik, only worse.

Knuckles feared that he wouldn't make it. As gently as possible he

scooped up Shadow's limp form. When he caught up with him, Tails was

carrying Sonic back to Knothole. Knuckles fell into step behind him and

neither of them said a word.

They went straight to the medical hut and Sonic was quickly checked out.

Knuckles and Tails were informed that he'd passed out from fatigue.

Shadow was a different story. He had several doctors hovering around

him, applying bandages and fussing over him. One of the doctors asked

Knuckles to bring the family in because his chances of survival weren't

looking good. Knuckles immediately ran to get Amy. He brought her and

the yellow Chaos Emerald. Amy was a bit of a basket case, Knuckles

tried to calm her while he placed the Chaos Emerald in Shadow's hand.

The loose Chaos Energy that was thrown off interfered with most of the

medical instruments. Shadow began glowing a very faint silver. The

silver glow kept increasing and the hut's power went out, leaving

everyone in the dark. The silver glow faded away and it took several

minutes to get the lights back on. With the lights back on everyone saw

Amy holding Shadow. He was healed by his hyper form and all the

bandages had been burned away by the excess energy he'd given off.

After having healed, it was painfully obvious to everyone how much

weight Shadow'd lost.


	12. Chapter 12

When Shadow woke he tried to sit up but he found that a restraining

hand was placed on his chest. Then he saw the worried face of Amy. He

managed to smile but frowned when he saw her tears. "Amy what's

wrong? I told you everything would be fine." Shadow gasped and winced

when Amy hugged him in a way that suggested she'd never let go. Lucky

for Shadow, Knuckles came in and pried Amy off. "Shadow I missed you

so much. I thought you were dead, you died in my arms then Sonic didn't

care that you were dead. Now Sonic's run off saying you're in danger and

now here you are." Knuckles threw Shadow a look that said, 'explain

everything and do it now.' "I'll explain everything. Professor Gerald

made me to save Maria. I was designed with the ability to fuse my soul

with another's. You probably noticed Sonic getting faster and stronger.

That's because I was starting the process of rebuilding myself in him. As

I did that he gained some of my speed and strength. I wasn't ready to

come out yet, you can probably tell. Sonic wasn't worried because he

could feel my soul inside him. I tried to make him tell you because I

didn't have enough time to." Shadow shrugged and the gesture looked

stiff. Knuckles and Amy both frowned seeing it. Neither Shadow nor

Amy expected what came next. Knuckles bear-hugged Shadow, lifting

him clear off the bed. "I missed you." Knuckles' voice was husky with

emotion. After the initial shock wore off Shadow realized that his back

had been effectively popped in about nine different places. Shadow

gritted his teeth as Knuckles set him back on the bed. Knuckles shuffled

out the door mumbling something about finding Sonic. Amy gently sat

on the edge of the bed and kissed Shadow. He smiled then asked her if

she'd cried. She blushed and Shadow informed her that she was in trouble

before he kissed her. "Can I go home or do I have to stay here?" Shadow

asked. A doctor was passing by so he answered. "Yes. But you need to

take it easy. Lots of bed rest and no junk food until you put some weight

on with healthy stuff. If you eat junk food now it may mess up your

metabolism." Shadow smirked and tried not to laugh. Amy caught it

anyway. "What's so funny?" "My metabolism can't be messed up." Amy

giggled and walked Shadow home, her hand in his. She couldn't help but

blush when she thought that her hand in his was a perfect fit. When they

got to his hut Amy insisted that he go to bed. He didn't put up much of a

fight and was asleep within minutes. Amy smoothed out Shadow's messy

(-er than usual) spikes. She'd always loved how they were streaked.


	13. Chapter 13

Sonic was relieved to hear that Shadow was fine and, in fact, at home.

When he woke up Shadow insisted that he talk to Amy, Knuckles, Sonic

and Tails at the same time. So everyone was milling around in Shadow's

hut, waiting for him to wake up again. When Shadow sat up with a yawn

all attention was turned to him. "Morning." Shadow spoke tiredly.

Everyone had a good laugh when Amy informed him that it was nearly

two in the afternoon. Tirza jumped up into Shadow's bed and hugged

him. After everyone talked with him, some scolding him, others wanting

him to explain everything, things slowed down and they started going

home. Amy stayed with Shadow and made sure he ate like he should.

Under Amy's care Shadow made a quick recovery. Things went on

normally until one day while Amy was away. . .

Amy got back to Shadow's hut and didn't know what to think. At first

she thought Tirza and Shadow were just sleeping, and then she noticed

Tirza's legs and tails. They were no longer metal. Tirza woke up and

happily skipped off to find her mom and dad. Amy sat and waited for

Shadow to wake up. "Hey Amy. . . I'm in trouble aren't I?" "Draining

yourself like that isn't good for you. Tirza's very happy though." Amy

sat on the edge of Shadow's bed and smiled when he put his arms around

her waist. "You can't stay mad at me, can you?" He asked in a playful

tone. Amy sighed and rolled her eyes. "Could you get me some aspirin or

something? I have a headache." "Are you okay?" "Yeah, it's fine. It's

just a headache." "If you say so. I'll be right back." As Amy went out the

door Shadow let out a low moan and held his head in his hands as he

tried to convince himself that it was just a headache. Amy got back with

the medicine and quickly gave it to Shadow. She frowned at what she

saw; he was sweating and shaking violently. She checked his forehead

with her hand and ran to get a doctor. Neither Amy nor the doctor knew

what to do for Shadow so they just kept watch over him. About a half an

hour later the aspirin kicked in and Shadow sat up like nothing happened.

He yawned and looked at the doctor. "Why's he here?" "Shadow, you

were . . . you had a fever and you were shaking and . . . You scared me!"

"It's a good thing I don't get headaches very often huh?" Amy relaxed a

little. "You should've seen Professor Gerald when I had my first

headache." Amy and the doctor both had a good laugh. Amy kissed

Shadow's cheek lightly. "I promised Keira I'd visit today. I'll be back

later okay?" Shadow nodded and watched her and the doctor leave. As

soon as their footsteps faded away he got out of bed and threw up. When

he felt steady enough on his legs he went and got a bottle of aspirin, right

after he left the store he took two more and went back to bed. The next

few days Shadow kept sneaking aspirin, hiding his problem and silently

made plans.


	14. Chapter 14

Amy walked into Shadow's hut and was surprised to find it still dark,

with Shadow still in bed. She frowned and walked over to the window

and opened the curtain. A bottle of aspirin fell out of the window and she

picked it up. "An aspirin bottle? Wha-" Shadow stirred as she shook the

bottle. There was barely any sound, very few pills were left. "Shadow?

Shadow what is this? The first time I've ever seen you take anything was

for your headache." Shadow mumbled something incoherent, took the

bottle from Amy and downed the last two pills. Amy didn't hesitate; she

took Shadow by an ear and headed to Tails' house.

"How long has he been doing this?" "Uh, about three days Tails." Tails

checked Shadow over while Amy made him hold still. "Shadow?

Shadow what happened? Your Chaos Energy levels aren't where they

should be. You've lost about twenty five percent!" "Well I said I don't

get headaches very often. Listen, I know how to reverse everyone's

robotization at the same time." "Really!" Amy burst out, excited. Tails

frowned but stayed silent. Amy and Keira finished but Tails held Shadow

back. "I don't know what you're planning, but, I don't think you can

handle an energy output that big. If you'd let me monitor the next time

you reverse the-" Shadow gave Tails a slow, sad smile and held a finger

to his lips to signal 'shhh'. Tails' eyes widened. "I know what I'm doing.

I'm the only one who can do this. Goodbye Tails. Take good care of your

family." "What about Amy? What about her Shadow?" "Her family can

take care of her. Her mother, father and brother were roboticized; they'll

come back to her. Yours will come back to you. Amy will be better off

because if you hadn't noticed, I don't age." Shadow quickly caught up

with Amy and walked her home.

Knuckles nearly jumped out of his skin when Tikal appeared. "He faces

his hardest challenge yet, the test of love and trust. What he plans will

kill him; love and trust can prevail though." "Hey Knuckles! I came by

to-" Tails stopped in mid sentence when he spotted Tikal. "Tails we have

to stop Shadow from . . . doing, something!" "Only love and trust can

prevail." Tikal spoke again. "Only Amy can stop him now! We have to

get to her and fill her in before it's too late!" Knuckles jumped into

Tails' plane. "Whaddya waiting for!" He called to Tails as he ran to catch

up. As the plane flew away Tikal sighed and looked towards

Robotropolis. Chaos appeared beside her and she leaned into his arms. "I

hope Amy succeeds, love is the strongest power known, even stronger

than pure Chaos Energy. Shadow stayed by the Master Emerald too long.

He can't replace his energy or contain it any more; soon he'll have none

left and will die unless Amy can talk him out of his plan."


	15. Chapter 15

"Amy!" Amy jumped nearly two feet straight up when Knuckles and

Tails burst through her door. "Where's Shadow?" Tails asked

breathlessly, frantically searching the room. "He just left to go do

something. Why?" "Amy he's gonna kill himself to restore everyone who

got roboticized!" Knuckles explained quickly. At that moment Sonic let

himself in, thinking he'd ask Shadow to compete in a race. Instead of

finding Shadow, Knuckles found the collar of his shirt and held him up

to eye level. "Sonic, take Amy to Robotropolis right now! Right to the

center of the city. No questions, just do it!" Knuckles barked in his face.

Seeing everyone's grim faces Sonic didn't argue. He immediately

gathered Amy in his arms and went off at a dead run.

Shadow winced as he placed the last Chaos Emerald, completing the

circle around him, with blood dripping down his arm. This last emerald

had been in the possession of a roboticized mobian so he'd refused to

attack. Instead of avoiding being hit, his timing was off on his dodge so

he'd walked away bleeding. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he

readied himself for his final moments. . .

"Shadow!" Amy called. She saw him hesitate for a few seconds before he

turned silver. "No!" Sonic went faster then he ever had before and as he

stopped by Shadow Amy flew from his grip and latched onto Shadow.

Sonic knew that his part was done so he made his exit, leaving it up to

Amy. "Amy, no. This has to be done." "There has to be some other way!

Shadow you're already hurt." Shadow cringed at the mention of 'some

other way'. 'Don't ask me. Please don't ask me. I can't stand to use

Hyper Control, not again.' Shadow silently pleaded as the Chaos

Emeralds started to circle him. "Shadow, please tell me there's some

other way. Please don't hide anything from me. I don't want you to die!"

Amy cried, clinging tighter. She felt Shadow's tensed muscles relax, his

body sag against hers. She stroked his ears as he bowed his head in

defeat. "There is one other way. . . Hyper Control. It reverses time, gives

the chance to change the course of a life or alter the future." Shadow

spoke in a barely audible whisper. "Why don't you use that, if it won't

kill you?" "It does worse than kill." As he answered a single tear fell.

Amy kissed him and brushed the tear away. She noticed more of his

weight leaning into her. "It makes you relive your life up to the point that

you want to change, so you get to watch the same thing over again. When

Maria was killed, I used the Hyper Control. I really believed I could alter

her fate, save her. I ended up failing her again. Every time I failed her I

got weaker so I always failed her no matter what. Even if I use Hyper

Control, it will change nothing. Everything will happen again. I will still

die." "No Shadow, you can't. I need you. I can help you change things,

we'll do it together. Please, do it for me, for your sake as well as mine."

Shadow's face set with determination and Amy was thrilled to feel

Shadow's muscles move against her, the sheer power and liquid grace of

it had her heart racing. She felt Chaos Energy flood through Shadow. She

gave him a kiss full of need and desire. When they separated she

whispered 'I love you' as Shadow yelled 'Hyper Control'.


	16. Chapter 16

'What happened? I remember, light. . . Hyper Control!' Shadow instantly

remembered everything that happened. Amy convinced him to try Hyper

Control instead of sacrificing himself to save everyone else. He was

vaguely aware of a sense of falling and extreme heat. His senses became

clear and he could see the ground, looming ever closer to him. Shadow

screamed as he slammed into the ground in a forest. _'If there's no one to _

_hear it, does a scream make a sound?' _Shadow thought dryly as he

coughed up blood. _'I've returned to the day that I fell to Earth after the _

_ARK incident, the day that Robotnik finds me. . . I tried to tell her that _

_nothing would change. . . I am in worse shape this time though.'_

'I have to get to Shadow!' Amy thought as she ran. She really had no idea

where she was going; she just let her feet guide her. Eventually she

thought she could smell traces of smoke and another smell, one that

sickened her, the smell of blood. She burst into a clearing to see the

Ultimate Life, Shadow, lying in a pool of his own blood. As she

approached him she saw his eyes open and was thankful for the spark of

recognition that was seen in his eyes. Amy pulled his upper body onto

her lap and, cradling him in her arms, kissed him passionately. The result

was Shadow's mind going a little fuzzy. As Amy slipped her hand in his,

he whispered, "It's changed." Shadow managed a weak smile for her

sake. Amy kissed him again as he fell asleep in her arms. "I love you

Shadow." She whispered quietly.

Thanx again for being patient and for even reading this. Hope you liked it, please review and tell me what you thought. Hopefully new stories coming soon.

Sayonara, Shade


End file.
